Accident, not my fault, should I even tell insurance company?

Scrooge_3-2 · 14 February 2005 at 2:54PM

Hi,

Last week a guy on the motorway crashed into the vehicle ahead of him in the fast lane, then swerved into my lane and hit my side. My car doors were quite badly damaged. I've got all his details and that, and I assume it would be his fault and covered by his employer's insurance (he was in a company car, well van).

Even using this site's tips I pay a lot for my insurance as I've only been driving a few months and have a high risk job, and can't really afford to pay any more. Am I right in thinking that if I report an accident to my insurers my insurance goes up even if it is not my fault as I am then seen as higher risk? Because if that's the case am I better just trying to settle direct with the guy and get the damage fixed myself. I know you're not really supposed to do that but I don't see how the insurance company would ever find out really.

Advice welcomed...

alanrowell · 14 February 2005 at 3:46PM

yes, because his insurance company will inform your insurance company

m00nie · 14 February 2005 at 4:05PM

you can claim directly from his insurance, without getting yours involved.

may just take a bit longer and will mean you have to do the ringing around and chasing up.

Woby_Tide · 14 February 2005 at 5:39PM

if you don't tell your insurers and the for whatever reason either he or his insurers refuse to pay out you're stuffed, as long as your claim is met by other insurers shouldn't affect your premium much, not all the insurers ask about accidents etc. (UK Insurance i.e. Tesco and assorted others don't I think)

don9999 · 14 February 2005 at 6:12PM

I don't think you HAVE to 'claim' through the insurance companies. If the damage is small, it is often cheaper to sort it out between the two parties than to claim through the insurance and risk no-claims bonus etc.

However.....if you go that route, make sure you STILL tell your insurance company! They still require to know about any incident you have been involved with. It doesn't mean that your premium would increase, especially if it was the fault of a third party. (For instance, I have been involved in an accident with a third party at fault, and my premiums were unaffected.)

I strongly advise that you do NOT keep it secret from your current or future insurers. Of course, you 'could' get away with not telling them, and them not finding out. However, in the event that you have to make a claim with them, they will consdier ANY excuse not to pay out. If you have withheld any information from them, they can use that against you, and try not to pay up.

In my opinion it's not worth the risk in the long run....

Cheers,
Don

Altarf · 14 February 2005 at 6:44PM

Insurance is a contract of 'Utmost good faith'. If you fail to tell you insurer anything material then the contract is void (i.e. you are not insured). You may not think that something is material but the insurer may.

A real example I came across was somebody who had their car broken into two or three times. On each of these occasions, nothing of value was stolen, so they didn't bother reporting it to the insurers. On the final occasion, the car was stolen. When they mentioned the earlier incidents on the claim form, the insurers voided the policy on the basis that had they known about the earlier incidents they would have increased the premium as the insured was a bigger risk than they thought.

With your case, if you think that it is a possibility your premiums may go up in future (which they can even when it is not your fault), try putting in some details (I would use some slightly anonomized details) into one of the online insurance quotes, with and without the accident, and see what the difference is. If there is a difference, you could try adding it to the claim as an uninsured loss.

MarkyMarkD · 15 February 2005 at 12:34AM

Altarf, you are quite right about "utmost good faith", but I think there is absolutely zero chance of a consequential loss claim for the increased premium succeeding.

new2it · 25 February 2005 at 3:00PM

My car was involved in an incident not of its own making. It was empty and parked at the time, but being honest I informed my insurers. There wasn't sufficient damage to make a claim against the people who hit my car, but my insurance went up, because, they said, it was likely to be involved in another incident. Like my car has a personality of its own! Anyway, having learnt my lesson, I won't report such a thing again.

andy88_2 · 26 February 2005 at 12:58PM

You must report it. It is probably a breach of your insurance contract not to.

At the moment, it sounds straightforward to us that it was not your fault in any way. But by the time his insurers read his report, it could sound substantially different ...

I wouldn't give your chances of negotiation with the other party or his insurers too much hope. Indeed, they may refuse to deal with you directly. Your insurers will be much better at this. Or if the other party is not insured ...

Your damage sounds like it could be £1000 - 1500. If you repair it independently at lower cost and quality, it will affect your insurers opinion of the future value of the car as you've voluntarily accepted this reduction, and failed to disclose material information.

Your no-claims bonus will be provisionally affected (ie if you renew before the claim is settled), and it could take a few months if the others argue, but once sorted out it will cost you no extra.

I've been involved in 3 accidents not my fault in the last 6-7 years. The first was uncontested, and the woman pleaded guilty to careless driving. In the second, the other drivers account was rubbish (I "drove into the back of him" - no damage to the rear of his car!) My insurers made a mistake and paid out about half, having previously said see you in court then; they admitted the mistake and refunded my NCB when I complained. The third about a year ago I was struck from behind by a foreign lorry. There was correspondence for a few months; each time my insurers totally rebutted the claim against me; I don't think the other insurers UK agents would have given up so easily if they were talking to me. None of these has affected my premiums.

waterbaby · 26 February 2005 at 11:35PM

As I understand it, you will not have your premiums increased if the insurer is able to get their money back from the other insurer.

I understand your dilemma though. I had a golf ball through my window (I wasn't in it!). It was parked in front of a house that backs onto a golf course fairway. Quality golfing :rolleyes: .

It cost less than my excess to fix, the golfing lot paid anyway, and the street would just have had its risk increased (perhaps along with my premium). No thanks.

I'd always tell them if I had an accident with another road user, its just too complex, with legal issues etc. You never know how the other party is going to describe things.

And the point has already been made that they may well find out anyway. Insurance companies do share information - it may just be to combat fraudulent claims, I'm not sure, but if your friend in the van has given your details to his insurer, they may be available to yours even if you haven't told them directly. Not trying to scare you.

I've not been in your situation yet (I'm sure I will one day as there are some lunatics out there), but I would play it straight as it would hang over me otherwise. Maybe you are different. Good luck anyway.

Altarf · 27 February 2005 at 2:53PM

MarkyMarkD wrote:

Altarf, you are quite right about "utmost good faith", but I think there is absolutely zero chance of a consequential loss claim for the increased premium succeeding.

Why? Through somebody elses actions you have incurred a loss (comparing premiums with and without the incident will demonstrate that). It is really no different to the person causing the accident paying for any other loss that you will incur due to their actions, such as car hire, taxis, etc.

Obviously you would need to present some facts on which to base your claim, but with the online insurance quote webpages allowing you to amend details, you can get a quote with and without the claim, for this year, next year, etc.

Accident, not my fault, should I even tell insurance company?

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